You work for a company that is losing its market share following 30 years of consistent growth. Well ...

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You work for a company that is losing its market share following 30 years of consistent growth. Well-funded and better-branded competitors are quickly pivoting to embrace new technologies, and customers are leaving and going elsewhere. You are one of several concerned employees who recognize that the environmental and technological changes could mean your company might eventually go out of business within five years. Something must change! The problem is that your company has experienced multiple change initiative failures, it is not agile and, instead, uses waterfall planning processes and outdated change models. You and your colleagues have decided to work together to present a proposal for how your company can become a disruptor rather than allow the digital disruption to take you under. You want to create an agile organization and culture of innovation where talented people work together and perform at their peak. You and your concerned colleagues know that your company cannot afford to simply hire a change management consultant, so, instead, you have decided to propose a solution to this problem. Look Ahead If you have not already done so, carefully review the expectations for the deliverable in Step 5. Incorporate as many of those elements into this step to save time and effort. The Research Plan Your team is ready to lay out a plan from all you have gathered on this problem and potential solutions so far. Your plan should essentially be a working draft of your proposal and clearly answer each of these questions. First, you must determine your goals based on organizational capacity and priorities for change. Use the lists from Step Three. What needs to be changed? Which parameters can you target? Second, create a hybrid, customized change model. To do this, consider each parameter and determine how your hybrid model will help you change each parameter. How do you know this is the right thing to propose? Provide a rationale for your hybrid model. What results do you expect from implementing a highly customized model? The Test There are several ways your team can test your potential solutions in this scenario. The following tests should generate significant insight into your plan and help you refine your proposal in Step Five. How does your proposal align with the Virtuous Business Model? Are there any gaps in alignment that should be addressed? See the aspects of change-agile organizations on page 81 of the Gibbons text. Does it fit with a growth mindset? Does it enable dynamic flow of ideas? Does it nurture a culture that is operationally adaptable and strategically nimble? Does it create structures, processes, and systems that are “two-speed”? Does it utilize the dimensions of change leadership or is it project-based? Apply a critical thinking test. Use this Critical Thinking Map.(new tab) Consider your audience: How is it perceived by various stakeholders or participants? How will this be received by the CEO? Does it come across as being critical or demeaning? Is it culturally sensitive? Would this really get the ball rolling on becoming an agile organization (attitude and culture)? The Results Testing the solutions will yield results. In this course, the results of your tests will help you refine your customized and blended model of change leadership. Show evidence of the changes your draft proposal has gone through in this step. Instructions for Deliverable Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. You can learn more about the specific skills being assessed by reviewing the links in Problem-Based Learning Resources(new tab). As a team, determine how you will present your plan and test results. Each team member must participate in the testing of the plan. Clearly indicate team members' contributions.